USTA Campus Championship - Southern

32 hopeful college club tennis teams squared off at the 2010 USTA Campus Championship – Southern (South). With cold temperatures early in the morning, teams battled through the first round. Clemson University and Emory University found themselves in an early test with victories decided by two games or less in all but one of their sets. In the end, Clemson fought for the 27-26 victory to advance. Second round action saw intensity levels rise among the players with the next round leading into the championship brackets. The hosting Auburn University (B) team faced off against the North Carolina Tar Heels dropping the match, 24-26.

The defending national champions, Duke University, finished on top leading into the championship bracket after victories over College of Charleston (B) and Columbus State University. The University of South Carolina (A), College of Charleston (A) and Georgia Tech rounded out the top four spots of that bracket. The other four teams chasing an automatic bid were University of Alabama, North Carolina State University, UNC, and Auburn (A).

The tournament’s first day came to an end with the first round of the championship brackets played out. Duke was stunned by the home team of Auburn (A), 23-14, after taking victories in women’s doubles and men’s doubles. South Carolina found itself in an overtime tie-break situation with UNC that led to an upsetting loss, 28-27. College of Charleston (A) upset NC State by four after strong victories in women’s singles and men’s doubles. Alabama and Georgia Tech faced off in tie-breaks to decide three of the five sets with Alabama taking two of the victories to defeat the Yellow Jackets, 25-24.

The College of Charleston (A) team squeaked by the UNC in the semifinals, 24-23, and Auburn advanced easily past Alabama.
The final match was a thriller to match the rest of the tournament. In the end, Auburn University claimed victory with a 21-20 victory over College of Charleston (A).

The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Club Tennis Team was crowned the champion of the USTA Campus Championship – Southern (North) in Knoxville. The tournament, the second Section Championship played this year, was conducted Saturday, March 13 and Sunday, March 14.

UNC along with finalist Georgia Tech earned bids to the 2010 USTA National Campus Championship in Surprise, Ariz. April 15-17.

North Carolina and Clemson were tied at 21 games all going into the final mixed doubles match. That's when the Tar Heels took their game up a notch with a 6-2 set win. The final match score was 27-23.